Black Galaxies of Ghana coach Annor Walker has disclosed how his players were able to overcome a stubborn Nigerian side, in the first leg of the African Nations Championships (CHAN) final qualifying round on Sunday.
Second half goals from Daniel Afriyie Barnieh and Suraj Seidu earned Walker and his team a 2-0 win at the Cape Coast Stadium in Accra.
And reacting to the win, Walker explained how his players were psyched up going into the second half after they were contained in the first 45 minutes by the home-based Eagles.
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“In actual fact, it was a difficult game especially in the first half because the Nigerians didn’t allow us to play the way we wanted,” Walker was quoted on ghanasoccernet.com.
“So, after the first half, we talked to the players to change their mentality and play aggressively like how Nigeria did in the first half. After the break, I think the players changed their mindset and that paid off for us.
“In all, I will say it was a difficult game but all the same God has seen us through. We have struggled in the first half in our last two games (Qatar and Nigeria) but against Benin, it wasn’t like that because we had the chance to score two early goals in the first half.
“Against Qatar, we struggled a bit until the second half because they scored two goals which disrupted us. Nigeria too made it difficult for us in the first half and it is good that we have noticed our shortfalls, going forward we will change the narrative,” Walker stated.
The second leg is scheduled for Saturday September 3rd at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja, with the winner of the tie qualifying for the CHAN tournament in Algeria next year.
The last time Ghana featured at the CHAN tournament was at the 2014 edition in South Africa where they finished as runners-up.
For the home-based Eagles they missed the 2020 CHAN tournament in Cameroon after losing to Togo in the qualifiers.
27 Comments
Omo is like DREAD LOCKS dey shark Dem there oo..
This one wey all of them wear dread..
LMFAO!!
i watched this match and in all honesty. i hope the minister can see the reason home based are not fit to play in the supper eagles. the basics of football is lacking. poor control of ball, horible passes, they do not attack spaces. i think not qualifying for CHAN will e good for Nigeria becaus this team will not pass the first round. As for the coach like all Nigerian coaches. i really do not know if they have a coaching licence as against the PHE (physical education certitificate) there tactics is showing. but in all honesty i saw3 ghanaians particularly the midfielder and captain that can play or any team in the world
LMFAO!
I told you all..
soon maybe CAMERA go show where SALISU YUSUF dey COLLECT MONEY for the SALE of the MATCH…
LMFAO!!
LMAO hehehe dem go soon show am,him collect d money 4 halftime.
Lol
Mouth Makers I told all of you our League is useless when will you all stop this bragging. I said it you were all paving the way for insults Ghana League is stronger than ours. Nigeria has falling flat in football. Period we are not a nation to be feared in Football any longer PERIOD!!!.
Nigerians, We are too arrogant for some reason we feel that we are the Gods of football in Africa which is far from the truth and Ghana as I feared has shown us again. I mean a league that is not functioning can not do anything competitvely. I will say again until Nigeria League is put inorder this will be the continous result and some clueless fans and Sports officials will be calling for these same NPFL league players to come and do what in Super Eagles main team BIKONU!!!!!!!!!?????????????????
Do you guys expect anything different? History, as far as I can remember, hasn’t really been good to Nigeria against Ghana.
Meanwhile, don’t hesitate to check my latest post on Sadio Mane
What I saw those homebased playing really surprised me… I want to be believe if the Adegbite guy who caused handball and a resultant penalty kick can be drafted to the CHAN Eagles, then why not other flying Eagles squad members like Daga (Defensive Midfield), Samson Lawal (Attacking Midfield) and the mercurial Gomber United player who punished Benin Republic goalkeeper in the final match of U-20 WAFU Zone B tournament?
If my football brain serves me well, I want to believe that the Ladan Bosso crop of current flying Eagles squad have more talented and good football players that what bribe taker Salisu Yusuf paraded against Ghana. The CHAN Eagles I saw, if they are the best 22 players our league can offer then the whole league is a mess.
Those players for CHAN Eagles look hungry and unmotivated and strangely most could not even run and mark properly. Again most of them are over 30years age… that team played like parttime footballers…
@JimmyBall you are the biggest culprit when it comes to clamouring for NPFL players in SE. As I will always say do you know that the best players from the concluded NPFL league have already left the league? some to SLovenia, Croatia even to Libya?. Like I always say what is the basis of clamouring for players from a League to be part of SE main team when the best will even run to Libya than stay in NPFL then you people will either knowingly or i would like to believe unknowingly be clamouring for the less quality players to be included in SE over the best just because they left NPFL for greener pastures. Let me remind you when the next SE list comes out for SE and fans start clamoring for NPFL players to part of SE do you know that the players you are clamouring for better players than them have left at the start of the season?. that is what boggles my mind. FANS and officials alike in partcular You @Jimmyball are doing our Super Eagles main team no good by clamouring for these bunch of jokers to be part of the team ahead of the likes of Bassey and Lookman
Nigeria league is bad yes but I also took note of a dubious second half calls by the referee. The penalty was way too contentious and the infringement on our player was ignored not even a close repay to checkmate the wave off. Nigeria league is bad but so is African officials doomed to corruption. Both world and Africa Nigeria is always scape goat to every official only God can help us as a nation to be favoured. The penalty killed the game let’s take it easy on the boy from a bad league full of greedy club owners.
*boys from a bad league
The lack of favour is a result of the daily happenings in Nigeria for the past decade. It happens in football when it’s not your day every decision goes against you and vice versa. Corruption is a possibility and it’s secondary due FIFA’s inability to hold referees accountable and dish out stiff punishments to curb bad officiating BUT as for the Ghana match it’s not the refs fault,it’s the Nff’s fault for failing to adequately make preparations for the tie which in turn goes to show that they do not have the best interest of our football at heart otherwise March qualifiers would have taught them something by now.
My people, Ghana played Benin in their first round. Since we wouldn’t play first round we have to prepare earlier and play international friendly matches. As a matter of fact both countries lack good league. Nff just select team within 2 weeks and play against Ghana who played Benin and beat them home and away and after which tourned Europe to play international friendly matches.
Are we still wondering why players from the NPFL cannot move straight from the league to French Ligue 1 like Taiye Taiwo or to the Eredivisie like Ahmed Musa of yesteryears….???
There are many talents in our league, there are many talents in our league, NPFL players are as good as their foreign based counterparts, 4 slots out of 11 should be reserved for homebased players….etc….LMAOOooo.
That was a team comprising of players from the top 3 clubs in the just concluded season and a sprinkle of others from the biggest clubs in the country like Enyimba, Rangers and Akwa Utd playing football that will make the likes of Chairman Christian Chukwu, Christian Madu, Chief Justice Adokiye Amasiemeka, Henry Nwosu, Late Muda Lawal and even the now Mr unMathematical Segun Odegbami shudder in disbelief.
I wonder where these so-called many talents are hiding if they cannot be found in the best 5 clubs (or thereabout) in the country
Granted they only camped for 2 weeks, but bring a Nigerian Foreign based European 2nd division XI together and camp them for 2 weeks and they wouldnt make one feel like puking like these lot.
When we tell them, they wouldn’t listen. They rather bark and growl and blindly argue endlessly about what is as clear as the morning of Christmas.
Continental competitions will start soon…..na on top mountain we dey dey fast and pray so, make at least 1 out of 4 (as usual) reach the group stages.
We can still choose to continue to live in fools’ paradise, wait for Peserio to “develop our league for us” LMAOooo…..or rise up and start speaking the truth to those in charge of our football.
You are so right @Dr Drey. Home based players are poor
bunch of jokers, NPFL should have a strict rule for at least two or three years that No player of high quality should leave to any club less than the top 7 leagues in Europe. I will include Scotland, Belguim and co because these leagues are better than Slovenia and co. if it is not England (even Championship), Bundesliga( even Bundesliga 2) and so on the they cannot not move.
No player of quality from NPFL can play in Libya ahead of the NPFL league. No NPFL player can move to SE with out dominating CHAN or CAF comps. MRI SCANS must be a constant every 2-3 months
the payment structures also should be improved and Infrastructure. if this happens and we start retaining the best players and in the League and dominating Africa again the ok we will see a improvement.
This thinking that it is Peserio job to improve the league is laughable at best and criminally/understandingly graduating them to SE will some way improve them with out stagnating the dominace of SE in Africa is what boggles my mind. And quite frankly this is the reason that Nigeria has fallen flat on our Yansh in football todat NFF officials, Ex Footballers and some fans who know themselves are to be blamed for this.
Again the reason this team was not well prepared is because instead of camping them for at least 3 months or 2 months. We were busy stupidly justifying why they should be included in Super Eagles main team. Quite simply put Nigerians in a nutshell trying to cross the finish line with out jumping the hurdle now we have fallen flat. Will we learn?? LOOL!! of course not. Watch out next month same people will be stupidly justifying why these jokers should be in SE main team. YEYE DE SMELL!!!!!
*Undeservedly* excuse the typos
I know you all are calling out the players so bad…..but from what I watched, those Ghanaians were not so better. Though the players are typical poor NFL-based players but that Ghana team played nothing special. Infact, I think we played better in the first half, but that officiating was really poor in the second half. We have been at the receiving end of bad officiating a couple of times now, we really need to voice out. Pinnick has always been useless anyways.
I mean Qatar. Black ducking Galaxies lost by 2 goals to 1 before Naija game. Is Qatar a big team? Twerkaa.
You think Qatar is a cheap team to beat? Asian football has improved a lot and it’s even a lot of kudos to the galaxy to be able to play them 2-1. The only thing I see in the match was the bad second half officiating that might be cajoled by the host to influence the referee during Halftime. You know Africa!!!
That was a clear penalty and the Nigerian player should have received the marching orders!
He intentionally used his hands to block a certain goal and the referee as well as the assistant referee were there!
This is the clear highlight here
https://youtu.be/9eiIWqbFooI
He blocked the ball with his hand and the referee wasn’t far from the action
Stop with ur complains
Your highlight was frozen and I saw no handball you can check on Naija bias sports who also froze and made comments confirming my statement of no handball. This was a dubious action by the host and the referee to decide the latter stage of the match after witnessing a shocking first half performance from Nigeria.
This is the highlight from naija bias and the guy giving the commentary said that the linesmen has his Gallagher off which is lie
Watch the last line man from the right if his flag was up!! Lies
https://youtu.be/HBFQABPPyH4
Watch the full match here and u can see the penalty clearly here
The Nigerian player deliberately clear the ball with his hand
https://youtu.be/kWC6ej2FxEk
With Salisu as coach of the Olympic Dream Team, we have missed out on PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS. Why will the North keep giving us their worst?
Both Ghana and Nigeria have poor leagues. These two countries when it comes to football have so much in common, especially bad referees. How often do you see Ghana Nigeria referees officiating in continental matches. Their approach to football is the same, the very reason caf has decided to let them eliminate themselves from tournaments. To them one represents the other